Blog

How to Stay Organized

Summer is oftentimes full of spur of the moment activities. Back to school planning allows you to get back into a routine. Either buy a calendar or make one with your kids.

Involve the family when you write down activities on the calendar. Have everyone write in their activities — piano lessons, sports practice and games, and social events. This is a great way to talk about responsibility, organization, and time management.

Have a weekly meeting to discuss the week ahead. Each day talk about the routine for that day; picking up from school, activities for the evening, dinner plans, etc.

Organize Your School Supplies

Being organized makes everything else easier. It helps you get to schoolwork faster without wasting time looking for stuff.

Recommend your children keep assignments and class information organized by subject. Set up a system at home with binders, notebooks, or folders. If your child is stuffing loose papers in their bag or grabbing different notebooks for the same class, it's time to stop and reorganize!

Regularly clean out and organize the locker. Decide where to keep returned assignments and things you want to hold on to. Offload things you no longer need to carry around.

Organize Your Space

Help your child establish a good workspace — someplace quiet enough to focus. It's best to work at a desk or table. Have a place set aside for homework. That way, when the child sits down, they are there to work and can help focus more quickly.

Organize Your Time

Use a planner to keep track of your schoolwork:

Write down all assignments and when they're due.

Break big projects into parts. Note the dates when each part needs to be completed. Mark in the planner when to work on each part.

Mark the dates for tests, then make a note of when to study for them. Don't leave things until the last minute — you'll only end up working twice as hard to do half as well.

Enter other activities on your calendar — such as team practices, drama rehearsals, plans with friends, etc. Use the planner to schedule what time to do schoolwork on days you have other activities.

Nikki Curliss, Guidance Counselor, has been at StMM for 6 years. She enjoys spending time helping students one-on-one and with whole classroom lessons.